Many roofing professionals continue to be impacted by an increase in automobile insurance costs due to a substantial rise in the frequency and severity of auto claims. Severe losses can expose the assets of a roofing company if they are not properly managed. We have seen firsthand that a relatively low-impact (typically rear-end accidents) auto claims reach six and even seven figure ranges. The main contributor to auto claims is distracted driving.

With 27 years of experience in the roofing industry we have developed some proven strategies to help roofing professionals reduce their cost of risk over time. One of these strategies is fleet risk management program implementation.

We have assisted many of our roofing clients with an aggressive and pro-active approach to auto accident mitigation. Our fleet management program begins with pre-employment testing (gauging the personality of a prospective employee’s driving habits and potential for injuries, which could also impact work comp), implementing a written and formal fleet management program, scheduling of driver awareness training, implementing a fleet accountability program, and formalized post-accident claims handling process for cost effective claims closure.

The formal fleet management program consists of monitoring the use of company vehicles (if vehicles are allowed to be taken home) and the use of personal vehicles (if employees use their own vehicle during company time) during business hours. The fleet accountability program consists of monitoring company vehicles through a third party (1-800- How’s my driving).

We also have assisted some of our roofing clients exploring programs that help prevent distracted driving, which can help with the reduction of auto and work comp claims. A cell phone can be shut down while in the driver’s seat, eliminating the use of phones for email, texts, etc., while the company vehicle is on or in motion Also, many of our roofing clients have implemented GPS tracking systems in their vehicles to help increase their productivity, control fuel cost and increase safety and risk management while monitoring the use of the company vehicles speed and braking habits.

If you would like to learn more about fleet safety and risk management programs please contact me at 407-493-2121

Brian Pratt is a regional manager for Roofing Risk Advisors, a Division of Furman Insurance. See his full bio here.